Ohio-based Power Graphics combines a knack for logistics with the power of online stores to create an unbeatable experience for their B2B customers.
Ask anyone who’s been in the industry for more than 30 years, and they’ll tell you how much has changed with the advent of new printing technologies, graphics capabilities, and other tools. Despite all that, the one thing that remains constant is a customer base that wants high-quality service and printed merchandise that matches those services.
That’s something Nyles Reinfeld, owner of Ohio-based Power Graphics, has been on the cusp of since he started his business. Part of Power Graphics’ toolkit is InkSoft online stores, which they’ve been using to cater to a broad set of B2B customers.
Speeding up online orders
“A product like InkSoft has allowed us to be more efficient with our time,” says Nyles. In the past, his team of designers has built websites from scratch. But building websites from scratch is time-consuming and often gets complicated regarding customization.
Now, Power Graphics can build a storefront for customers within a few hours instead of a couple of weeks. Nyles points out that the ease of making an online store in InkSoft helps him keep overhead lower. Basically, if the team has the right print shop software and spends less time on building a storefront for a customer, it’s easier to determine if that customer will be profitable for the business.
The company started with one InkSoft store and currently has around 10 active stores. Additional stores come online for limited times, like fundraisers or other seasonal events. The Power Graphics team works with their customers to ensure they actively promote the store to their end-customers so they get the most traffic possible and stay profitable.
Nyles says with the addition of InkSoft stores, order volume increased an estimated 25-30% over the past two years.
Staying flexible with online stores
That growth is partly attributed to the fact that Power Graphics can custom-tailor a store to meet different campaigns and customer categories. This especially comes in handy for the company since they run several corporate stores as part of their branding solutions.
“Some of those customers need an employee uniform store, so we’ll bill the company. Others do coupons or an allowance and direct their employees to go to the website and buy their apparel,” Nyles explains. “Those stores create the repetitive business that we’re after.”
That flexibility has also given Power Graphics the potential to fulfill stores that range in order volume anywhere from $1,000-10,000. And some stores, like churches and nonprofits, have surpassed that range with fundraiser online stores.
“Our customers love it,” says Nyles. “A cancer charity organization we work with raised $65,000 last year with their online fundraising campaign.”
Meeting the customer’s needs
Part of running those successful stores requires a solid foundation, Nyles explains. Before Power Graphics sets up a shop, there’s an interview process. This discussion ensures the business and the customer are a good match.
The Power Graphics team starts by getting to know their customers, digging into what kind of products they want to sell and what service or business they’re promoting.
“You need to know what those products and services are, who the market is because that goes into the design work,” says Nyles.
To help the shop stand out from the competition, Power Graphics operates more as a concierge service for its customers. It focuses on building those long-term relationships rather than price-matching and being the lowest bidder in town.
Power Graphics succeeds with monthly and bi-monthly promotional stores with an open and close date. Usually the store also tells shoppers they’ll receive their purchase after a certain date. At the end of a promotion, Power Graphics prints the goods. Typically, those goods are usually in the form of screen-printed or heat transfer products.
That limited-time incentive also works excellent for Nyles, an advocate for just-in-time manufacturing.
“There’s no inventory stockpiling, and it helps us gauge demand,” he says. “Anything sitting on the shelf to me is money.”
Better reporting
One challenging area for both customers and shops is order management and reporting. For Power Graphics, Nyles says the online store setup makes it simpler for both parties.
“Companies might have someone responsible for entering all the orders for an online store,” he says. “If they do not want to do it, they can send a store link to employees and say, ‘order here.’”
That dynamic eliminates the old-fashioned paper order form. And it reduces miscounted or lost customer orders.
Internally, Power Graphics is able to run sales reports and have all its customer information all in a centralized place.
Looking ahead at Power Graphics
With steady growth since its inception in the 1990s, Power Graphics continues to build on its reputation of high-quality design and a concierge-style set of services that includes InkSoft stores. Nyles says eventually, he’d like to see the business running 100 active stores while the business continues to operate online fundraising campaigns.
He adds that growth involves a rock-solid logistics plan and a team where everyone serves a particular purpose. Every one on the Power Graphics team, he says, brings a specific set of skills to the table to help strengthen the business. If the tools they use are easy to understand, everything runs smoothly.
“The nice thing about InkSoft is it’s user friendly, doesn’t require a lot of training,” he says. “You can dig in and pull the reporting information you need.”
For other shops looking to expand, Nyles says it’s all about consistency.
“If you want to grow and develop your company and a continuous improvement process, I think investing in InkSoft is a great way to reach markets and be a concierge service for your customers,” he explains. “You’ve got to bring something different to the table, and InkSoft helps us do that.”
For more information, visit https://powergraphics.biz/.
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